The unnamed teenager was initially brought before the courts when the parents of the 'victim', 13, brought child abuse charges (file picture)

A German teenager was placed on a sex offender's register alongside paedophiles, rapists and stalkers for giving his girlfriend a love bite.

Now the highest court in the land - one usually devoted to issues like terrorism and human rights - must decide whether he belongs on it.

The boy, 14, was also ordered to give a sample of his DNA to a court to be filed alongside his personal details, including school, friends and the youth club where he hangs out.

Germany's highest court has now stepped in following an outcry over the ruthless treatment of a boy whose 'crime' is seen by most as a clumsy experiment in lovemaking.

The DNA probe has been halted while the judges of the Constitutional Court probe the case and decide whether it is valid.

According to media reports, the boy from the eastern state of Thuringia was brought before a court 15 months ago when the parents of his 'victim' - a 13-year-old female classmate - brought child abuse charges after their daughter came home with the passion marker on her neck.

A police report read out to the Arnstadt Juvenile Court said: 'He kissed the girl in such a way that a love bite of clearly visible dimensions could be seen.'

The boy was admonished by judges in the case for committing 'child sex abuse' and, as well as logging him on to the pervert register, he was ordered to undergo 60 hours of community service.